Microgreens - Grow Your Own!

If you've never grown microgreens such as culinary herbs, edible flowers, baby lettuce or specialty greens, you really should, because they are a great way to garden year round.

Microgreens are a delicious base for, or an addition to, salads, entrees, and appetizers, plus they can easily be grown, giving you access to fresh greens any time of the year.

What Are Microgreens?

In the old days (like back in the 50s-60s-70s) what we called growing alfalfa sprouts has now developed into "microgreens" because the entire concept has really progressed to the next level.

The microgreens that are available now are the super nutritious, but immature stage (between sprouts and leafy greens) of vegetables, herbs and some edible flowers, and they are mass produced by specialty growers for organic markets, specialty chefs and restaurants, whole foods producers, and online delivery.

The great thing is that even though they are small, they are big on flavor and can be grown just about anywhere - even on a windowsill - because they are basically houseplants you can eat.

Popular Microgreens To Grow:

Peas
Kale
Cabbage
Arugula
Radishes
Beets
Clover
Mustard

What makes microgreens so easy to grow is because they don't need a lot of light, and they’re only going to be grown until the emergence of the first leaf (the cotyledon) stage, so a windowsill or sunny kitchen counter is a ideal location.

Also, each microgreen has an individual flavor, so you can grow your own microgreen "blend" if you want.

Note: If you want to grow a blend of microgreens, just keep in mind that it's important to plant those that have similar germination rates together so you can harvest your greens all at once.

Here's How To Grow Your Own Microgreens:

Supplies:

1. Shallow trays with clear domed lids (available at garden supply stores)

2. Potting soil

3. Seeds

4. Paper towels

Growing and Harvesting:

1. Create a seed bed by filling trays with soil. Be sure the soil is spread uniformly and that the surface is flat

2. Sow seeds by taking handfuls of seed and sprinkling them liberally across the soil surface

3. Press gently on sown seeds to be sure they have contact with the growing medium

4. Place a paper towel over the seed bed - 1 layer thick

5. Water using a kitchen sprayer, or a spray bottle, and thoroughly soak the towels until you are sure the soil beneath is wet

6. Cover trays with lids and place in a location that is not exposed to direct sunlight, but rather an area that gets very little light at all

Note: The lid on the tray will help keep moisture in and stimulate germination, but make sure that the paper towel stays moist during the process. If it dries out, wet it again.

Note: On the other hand, the lid can sometimes create a 'green house effect' so monitor your trays carefully. If the seeds seem to be getting too hot inside, remove the lid slightly to allow for ventilation and some air circulation.

7. Once the seeds fully germinate, which can vary based on seed type used, you'll notice the towel starting to lift off the soil. When this happens, remove the lid and paper towels from the tray and place the tray in a location that gets bright, but indirect sunlight

8. Continue to water gently as needed. Remember that over-watering can be just as damaging as under-watering, so allow the plants to dry slightly between waterings

9. Harvest microgreens any time after the emergence of the first leaves by cutting the stems with sharp kitchen scissors

10. Wash the greens by placing them in a container such as a small, plastic dish pan, and then dry them on a towel

11. Use your microgreens immediately, or store them in a resealable bag in the refrigerator

That's it! Pretty simple. And if you're a salad eater like me, this is a wonderful way to add new zest and zip to your lunch or dinner salads, so give it a try!

For more Gardening Tips and Gardening Advice visit our main gardening website at Weekend Gardener Monthly Web Magazine

Have great week!

Grow Your Own Spinach Indoors or Out!

The Spinach scare was a few weeks ago, but I kept thinking, if you really love Spinach, grow it yourself!

For areas that don't get hard winters:
Now is the perfect time to grow it because it likes cool weather and it won't bolt the way it does in the spring.

For areas that DO get hard winters:
Grow it indoors! It can be done very successfully and here is how:

Sowing:
Because you will be growing this indoors, I would pick a couple of varieties of Spinach that are more resistant to diseases.

For crinkle-leaf (savoyed) Spinach choose:
‘Indian Summer’
‘Melody’
‘Grandstand’

For Smooth-leaf Spinach choose:
‘Hector’
‘Nordic IV’
‘Olympia’
‘Space’

Spinach has a deep taproot so pick a container that can allow that root to grow and is around 10 to 12 inches deep.

Mix some soil. A good mix for indoor vegetables would be 1 part potting soil, 1 part vermiculite, 1 part peat, and 1 part perlite.

Plant Spinach seeds 1/2" deep. Spinach seeds germinate best in soils around 65°F-70°F. Germination takes 7-14 days.

Lighting:
Spinach will need 6-8 hours of bright light. A bright room or an enclosed, sunny porch where temperatures will not dip down to freezing would be a good place to place your pots.

Just make sure the area you put your containers stays cool! Spinach will bolt if it gets too hot, so the area should be around 65°F-70°F. If needed, get a few grow lights to help supplement your plants. They are super easy and fast to set up.

Thinning:
Once germinated, thin Spinach to one seedling every 3" or so.

Watering:
Spinach needs to be evenly moist throughout its growing season so monitor it fairly closely.

Fertilizing:
After your seeds have germinated and you have thinned your plants, Feed every two weeks and use a balanced organic fertilizer for best results like a 15-15-15.

Harvest:
Spinach is ready to harvest when the leaves are big enough to pick.

Harvest spinach by either cutting the leaves away from the plant or by pulling the entire plant out.

Spinach leaves benefit from cooling immediately after harvest. Wash the Spinach leaves in cold water.

Storage:
Spinach leaves can be stored 10-14 days, but Spinach is sensitive to ethylene gases so do not store it with fruits and vegetables that produce ethylene gas.

Spinach also freezes well, so you can always consider that option.

The neat thing about growing Spinach indoors is that you can grow more than 1 crop if you want.

So if you really miss Spinach, give this a try!

Come on over to Weekend Gardener Web Magazine for more gardening tips!